19 June 2018
‘
Original drama Sir Walter’s Women to be staged in the
Great Hall, Winchester
‘'He hath been as a star at which the world hath gazed, and like a star must fall’

Just over 400 years ago, the dashing Elizabethan hero, explorer and poet, Sir Walter Ralegh was convicted of treason in the Great Hall in Winchester. He was beheaded 29th October 1618.
 
Winchester-based 2TimeTheatre’s new production, Sir Walter's Women, re-imagines scenes from the life of this charismatic adventurer.  Staged in the 400th anniversary year of his execution, the drama looks at the influence of two extraordinary women in his life; one domestic, his wife Bess, and one political, Elizabeth I.
 
With a professional cast of three, and accompanied by Renaissance music group Courtlye Musick, this original one-act drama will have its premiere in Winchester's unique and atmospheric medieval hall as part of Heritage Open Days, the UK's largest festival of history and culture.
 
Writer Rachel O’Neill said: “Originally I wanted to stage his trial for treason in the very place where it happened, but as I researched his life, I realized that looking at his relationship with the two women in his life was inherently more dramatic, and perhaps illuminating as to why he ended up as he did; tried and executed for treason.”
 
Nicky Gottlieb, Festival Director Winchester Heritage Open Days said: “We have a wealth of historically fascinating and important buildings in Winchester.  The challenge is to bring them to life so they become more than architecture. Sir Walter’s Women offers the opportunity to have the Great Hall animated by a drama about the people who actually appeared there.”
 
This production has been made possible with the kind and generous support of Winchester based solicitors and mediators, Shenton’s, Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council’s Cultural Innovation Grant.
 
Performance dates and times:
19.00 – Friday 14 September
18.00 and 20.00 – Saturday 15 September
The Great Hall, Winchester, SO23 8UJ
Free admission
 
Photo credit: Mike Hall

“An Honest Soldier never is forgot,
Whether he die by Musket or by Pot.”
 
Summer 1918. Bill Wilson, an American soldier, is billeted in Winchester on his way to fight in the war in France. An encounter in Winchester Cathedral eventually draws him to a new way of life. And on his safe return to the USA, Bill becomes one of the two original founding members of a worldwide organisation – Alcoholics Anonymous.
 
"An Honest Soldier" is a new play for voices that includes music and poetry from the First World War, with extracts from the writings of Bill Wilson and Lois Wilson, speeches by Rudyard Kipling, and other contemporary accounts.
 
The unique setting for this world premiere is the Lady Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, and it was the discovery by Bill of an old gravestone in the Cathedral grounds which prompted a powerful revelation about his future.

Devised by local playwright, Philip Glassborow, and presented by 2TimeTheatre, the cast of three is drawn from Winchester and the surrounding area.  It includes ex-Symonds student Josh Henderson who plays Bill Wilson... renowned local professional actress, Ros Liddiard (Lois Wilson)... and Philip Bird (Kipling) who has worked extensively in the West End, The Globe and Chichester Festival Theatre.  Philip last performed in Winchester Cathedral when he was a pupil at Pilgrims! 

Musical Director Robert Sword comes from Alton and contributes his beautiful setting of "My Boy Jack" (the Kipling poem) alongside classic music from World War I.
 
This production has been made possible with the generous support of an anonymous donor and Winchester City Council’s Cultural Innovation Grant Scheme.

There will be two Winchester Festival performances in Winchester Cathedral:
Sunday 8th July at 2.00 pm and Monday 9th July at 3.00 pm.  Tickets are £10 plus booking fee and are available from the Festival website: www.winchesterfestival.co.uk or by calling Winchester Cathedral Box Office on 01962 857275.

Lucky Petra is one of three works in development that will be part of this year’s New Plays for Young Audiences (NYPA).  This follows Lucky Petra’s first outing as part of BEAM2018, the UK’s largest showcase of new musical theatre writing.  Writer Carl Miller and composer Christopher Ash have created an exciting piece of promenade theatre, driven by a travelling band and inspired by the work of August Strindberg’s allegorical play, Lucky Peer’s Travels.
 
The work will benefit from a week of workshops with a cast of NYU students, and script development guided by director, Tony Graham and dramaturg, Cecily O’Neill.
 
Petra lives in a high-rise tower, kept there by her father to protect her from the malign influences of the world. Petra’s eventual escape and journey – both real and psychological – is supported by a band of exiles and migrants as they traverse the post-Brexit landscape of Britain to a wild and anarchic musical accompaniment.
 
Tony Graham, director, said: “NPYA is a great testing-ground; a laboratory to explore whether a new play has life and then the potential for a professional production. Chris Ash’s vibrant, joyous music for Lucky Petra has already been given some air-time at BEAM, so this is an opportunity to probe the text. It allows us to look at the dramatic arc, the internal rhythms and the characters.”

Carl Miller, writer, said: “We wanted to combine our dramatic and musical passions to create bold, popular contemporary theatre for audiences of all ages, connecting the magic of European fairy tales to today’s emerging narratives of displacement; think Peter Pan meets Pan’s Labyrinth.”
 
Christopher Ash, composer, said: “The sheer joy and energy of a Balkan brass band music collides with the anarchy of street-punk music to drive the emotional tone and narrative of the play.”
 
Dramaturg and Artistic Director of 2TimeTheatre Cecily O’Neill joins the season for the 11th year in a row.

Lucky Petra is appropriate for ages 11+. Rehearsed readings are on Saturday, June 9 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 10 at 3 pm at the Provincetown Playhouse, 133 MacDougal Street, NYC.
 
Other plays on the season include:
HOW? is by noted author Lois Lowry and invites its actors and the audience to explore violence in society. Stan Foote directs. HOW? is appropriate for ages 13 and up. Rehearsed readings are on Saturday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 17 at 3 p.m.
 
Becoming Martin is by noted director, screenwriter, and playwright Kevin Willmott and explores Martin Luther King Jr.’s journey to understand his own feelings and beliefs during his time at Morehouse College (from the age of fifteen). Chip Miller directs. This play is appropriate for ages 11 and up. Rehearsed readings are on Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 24 at 3 p.m.
 
About New Plays for Young Audiences
 
For twenty-one seasons, New Plays for Young Audiences has developed some of the most promising new works for family audiences. Supported by NYU Steinhardt’s Program in Educational Theatre, NPYA was founded in 1998 by the late Lowell and Nancy Swortzell as a supportive space to nurture and evaluate new TYA scripts.
steinhardt.nyu.edu
 
About 2TimeTheatre
 
2TimeTheatre's performance arm was launched in October 2013 with a theatre production of Young Jane, short plays based on the early writings of a young Jane Austen and adapted by Cecily O'Neill.   Young Jane was the first publication from 2TimeTheatre (September 2016), followed by Drinking with Dorothy (January 2017). Meeting Miss Austen was published May 2017 and performed as part of the Winchester Festival in July 2017.  This was followed by a production of Jane Austen and The Waterman, written by Cecily O'Neill and Philip Glassborow for the SO: To Speak Festival in Southampton, October 2017.  2TimeTheatre is co-producing new musical Lucky Petra and producing The Honest Soldier, written by Philip Glassborow for performance in July 2018.
www.2timetheatre.com

Lucky Petra showcases at BEAM2018
A dramatic, musical voyage for all ages
 
Lucky Petra is an innovative new work of musical theatre selected to showcase at this year’s BEAM2018, the UK’s largest showcase of new musical theatre writing.  Writer Carl Miller and composer Christopher Ash have created an exciting piece of promenade theatre, driven by a travelling band and inspired by the work of August Strindberg’s allegorical play, Lucky Peer’s Travels.
 
Petra lives in a high rise tower, kept there by her father to protect her from the malign influences of the world. Petra’s eventual escape and journey – both real and psychological – is supported by a band of exiles and migrants as they traverse the post-Brexit landscape of Britain to a wild and anarchic musical accompaniment.
 
Christopher Ash, composer, said: “The sheer joy and energy of a Balkan brass band music collides with the anarchy of street-punk music to drive the emotional tone and narrative of the play.”
 
Carl Miller, writer, said: “We wanted to combine our dramatic and musical passions to create bold, popular contemporary theatre for audiences of all ages, connecting the magic of European fairy tales to today’s emerging narratives of displacement; think Peter Pan meets Pan’s Labyrinth.”
 
Lucy Petra has an extended showcase slot as part of BEAM2018, taking place at London’s Theatre Royal, Stratford East on Friday morning 2 March.  Tickets for the whole two day event featuring the most exciting new musicals, are available here: http://www.stratfordeast.com/whats-on/all-shows/beam-2018.

Carl Miller and Christopher Ash’s Brontë rock musical Wasted was featured at BEAM2016.
Follow Lucky Petra’s journey on Twitter #LuckyPetra
 
The Lucky Petra Team

Carl Miller (book and lyrics) wrote Emil and the Detectives for the National Theatre and has worked as a playwright and workshop leader in theatres across Britain and abroad.

Christopher Ash (music) is a founder member of the Olivier Award winning The Showstoppers’ improvised musical team. He has written many musical theatre shows including The Borrowers, and several film scores. He also improvises live electronic soundscapes with The Society of Strange.

Peter Rowe (director) is Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, and also writes musicals, including Leader of the Pack and 20th Century Boy which have had national tours.

Cecily O’Neill (dramaturg) is a world authority on process drama and adapter of classic stories for the stage including Drinking with Dorothy and Meeting Miss Austen.
 
For more information, please contact:
Rachel O’Neill
[email protected]
07821879094

 and WILD WOMEN WRITING's forthcoming production of VENUS AND ADONIS and  A RIFF ON HAMLET, directed by Katherine Burkman, takes place at The Short North Stage: www.shortnorthstage.org in Columbus, Ohio. Cecily O'Neill, Artisistic Director 2TimeTheatre has adapted Shakepseare's poem for the stage and this is its American premiere, following on from its UK debut as part of the 2016 Winchester Festival..

WILD WOMEN WRITING give staged readings of classic and original work. They have appeared at the Upper Arlington Library, the Sherie Gallerie, the Thurber Center, and the Hawk Galleries for their readings. They produced a staged reading when Harold Pinter died entitled Remembrance of Pinter’s Past with an array of fantastic Columbus actors.Their present performance home is the Theatre at Columbus Museum of Art, 480 East Broad St.  Free parking.

They also occasionally produce other events, such as readings from Carole Dales’s LIFE IN THE FIRE WORKS at Hawk Galleries, Katherine Burkman’s play of monologues, I DON’T THINK SO: LIFE’S STAGES at Sanctuary-for-the-Arts in Sunbury and plays by Canadian writer Dave Carley at both the Sanctuary and Sherrie Gallerie. They did a full production of Dave Carley’s TWELVE HOURS IN 2014 and produced two evenings of short plays by Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, and Will Eno at the Short North Stage in 2015. These were co-produced with the Short North Stage where they were directed by Katherine Burkman.  In November 2015 they also produced David Auburn’s new play,  LOST LAKE,  at the Short North Stage.

Copies of Venus and Adonis can be purchased from Winchester's independent booksellers, P & G Wells and from our website using the contact form.

Jane Austen and The Waterman by Cecily O’Neill and Philip Glassborow is a new commission for SO: To Speak, Southampton’s Festival of Words 2017. This is the world premiere of a new entertainment produced by 2TimeTheatre about two near contemporaries, both with strong connections to Southampton.

Jane Austen lived in the city for some years, attending dances at The Dolphin Hotel and plays in French Street.  Charles Dibdin was a native of the city, and his rousing and patriotic sea-songs inspired many young men to join the navy.

Austen’s elegant novels may seem a world away from Dibdin’s boisterous shanties and vivid theatrical entertainments, yet several Dibdin compositions are included in the Austen Family Songbooks, which have been digitised by Southampton University.  Some songs are written in Austen’s own hand; she was particularly interested in songs of the sea, as two of her brothers were in the Royal Navy, and this interest surfaced regularly in her much-loved novels.

Philip Glassborow, co-writer and director, said: “I’ve always wanted to tell Charles Dibdin’s story from his viewpoint. He was a prolific songwriter and novelist himself, and he wrote several comic operas including The Waterman. I thought it would be fun contrast his ramshackle public and private life with that of Jane Austen, who writes about a world obsessed with propriety and manners.”
Hampshire-based local comedian, musician and performer, Mervyn Stutter appears in the role of Charles Dibdin.  Cathy Sara plays Jane Austen and in her extensive TV, film and radio career she has worked with Mike Leigh and Michael Palin, and with Philip Glassborow on his radio productions, Silas Marner and The Secret Garden.

Performances:
2pm & 4pm Sunday 22 October at the Dolphin Inn, 34-35 High Street, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 2HN.
Tickets are £12 in advance and £15  on the door and are available from the SO: To Speak Festival website: http://www.sotospeakfestival.org.

Sardines Magazine: "Overall this is an thoroughly entertaining production, well directed by Philip Glassborow..."
Curtain Up South: "This is an excellent example of a group of highly-talented creatives working together to create a production that is fast-paced, funny and thoroughly entertaining. Whether you are a lifelong fan or a newcomer to period dramas, you must make sure to see this window into Austen's world."

Hampshire-based publishing and production company 2TimeTheatre is delighted to announce its cast for Meeting Miss Austen, which will be staged in July as part of this year’s Winchester Festival.
 
Winchester-based director Philip Glassborow said: “We’ve assembled a professional cast who are either all from Hampshire or who have strong ties to the area. Jane Austen’s roots were firmly in Hampshire and we were keen to reflect this in our casting.”  He went on: “We’re also delighted that local composer and musician Louise Jordan, based in the New Forest, is joining us as our Musical Director.  Jane Austen loved music and we want song and music to be an integral part of the show.”
 
The cast consists of acclaimed voice-over artist Jilly Bond who has family in Winchester, Portsmouth natives Peter McCrohon and David Parker, Southampton residents Jo Russel and Olivia Sarah Jayne Noyce, and Southampton Solent University Senior Lecturer, Maggie Tarver.
 
Local playwright Cecily O’Neill said: “I’ve taken Jane Austen’s teenage writings and turned them into three lively, comic plays which form the basis of Meeting Miss Austen.  Her talent for creating memorable comic characters is already evident and I’m confident that our cast can more than do it justice.”
 
For more information, please contact:
Rachel O’Neill
[email protected]
Tel: 07821 879094
  
Notes to editors:
Meeting Miss Austen, published May 2017, is Cecily O’Neill’s second collection of plays inspired by Jane Austen’s teenage depictions of love, money and drink.  It will have its world premiere on 8 & 9 July at the Winchester Discovery Centre.  Tickets £10 and £5 for 18s and under.
Festival Box Office: 01962 857276.
www.winchesterfestival.co.uk
 
2TimeTheatre is based in Winchester and exists to take classic or original stories, myths, novels, and poems, and re-imagine them for the stage.  Young Jane – three plays based on Jane Austen’s Juvenilia by Cecily O’Neill (published September 2016), was the first publication in a series that includes Drinking with Dorothy – a Comedy in ten Scenes inspired by the work of Dorothy Parker.
 
 
2TimeTheatre Ltd. Registered in England Company No:10373604
www.2timetheatre.com

2TimeTheatre publishes Meeting Miss Austen by Cecily O’Neill.

In these three plays, based on Austen’s teenage writings, we hear the voice of the teenage Jane; exuberant, saucy and often surreal in tales of love, loss, vice and victuals: 'The company partook of an elegant entertainment. After which, the bottle being pretty briskly pushed about, the whole party was carried home dead drunk.' (Jack and Alice)

Cecily O’Neill, Artistic Director of 2TimeTheatre, said: “As we approach the anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, I thought it would be fascinating to dramatise some of her earliest writings, and reveal the development of her genius for dialogue, social satire, and wit.”

2TimeTheatre will be staging two performances of Meeting Miss Austen including songs and music as part of the 2017 Winchester Festival at Winchester Discovery Centre on Saturday 8 July 2017 at 8:00pm and Sunday 9 July 2017 3:00pm.  Tickets are £10 and £5 for 18s and under.  Box office is on: 01962 857276.

Playwrights know that scripts don’t really come to life until the words are actually spoken aloud. It’s only at that point that it becomes possible to judge the their dramatic effectiveness. When the teenage Jane Austen wrote the novels, plays and other works that make up what is now known as her Juvenilia, she intended them to be passed around and read aloud to amuse her family and friends. She wanted her words to come alive. Everything she wrote between the ages of twelve and seventeen is full of the kind of lively dialogue and vivid characterisation familiar to us from her adult novels, although her plots are farcical and her tone is satirical. It’s not surprising that Pride and Prejudice, Emma and her other great novels have been successfully dramatised many times over.  

As far as I could discover, before I adapted three pieces for Young Jane, published in 2016 by 2timetheatre, the Juvenilia had never previously been dramatised for performance. Inspired by the enthusiastic reception of Young Jane, my next project was to adapt several more of the pieces for Meeting Miss Austen. Drunken Alice,  lovelorn Tom and the disagreeable and snobbish Lady Greville seemed to demand to come to life on stage. 

Two of the pieces I had chosen had been left unfinished. Would it be possible to find a way of completeing them, while remaining true to the anarchic spirit of the teenage Jane? My first task was to find a sympathetic but discriminating audience. I invited a few friends – among them writers, actors and theatre-lovers – to read the pieces for me. Their reactions and comments were extremely helpful and enlightening. They suggested that the character of Lady Greville could be further developed and insisted on the need for a happy ending for Tom and Henrietta in ‘Love Letters’.  After making these changes, I enlisted the help of several talented  young people from The Discarded Nut Theatre Company. We read the script several times, and I was delighted that the young people seemed very impressed by the teenage Austen’s energy and wit.

The premiere of Meeting Miss Austen will be at the Winchester’s Discovery Centre on July 8th and 9th of July as part of the Winchester Festival.
Cecily O’Neill